Ayurvedic Cleanse - Dinner - Simple Dal

The delicate yellow split lentils are served with lightly steamed broccoli for the perfect detoxifying meal. Add a touch of lemon and ginger for an extra cleansing tone.

Ingredients:

½ cup/100g yellow split moong dal (yellow split lentils)

2½ cups/625ml water

For the voggarane

1 Tblsp ghee

¼ tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

6 fresh curry leaves

½ dried chilli - torn in half

Pinch of asafoetida powder

Pinch of turmeric powder

½ tsp finely chopped ginger

1 small fennel/150g, fronds removed and finely chopped

½ - 1 tsp fine rock salt

a small handful coriander leaves

2 Tblsp fresh lemon juice

To Serve:

Ghee

Lightly Steamed Broccoli

Preparation:

In a heavy saucepan, wash dal several times until water runs clear – then drain.

Pour the 2½ cups water into a saucepan and bring to boil on a medium-high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a rapid simmer. (Do not cover the pot, this allows certain impurities or energetic imbalances to be eliminated.) You may need to skim off any foam which accumulates at the top at the beginning of boiling. Simmer until dāl is soft, creamy and broken down – approximately 30 minutes. Add a little water if the dal becomes too dry.

While waiting for the dal to soften, prepare the voggarane.

Voggarane:

In a small pan over medium heat, add the ghee, once hot add mustard seeds; as the seeds start to splutter and pop (make sure the mustard seeds have popped well), add the cumin seed, curry leaves, fry for a few seconds, then add asafoetida and turmeric powder, swishing the pan around allowing spices to fry evenly. To the voggarane add fennel & ginger, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, fry until the fennel becomes translucent.

Stir this into the dal, add salt, lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve with rice, steamed broccoli and drizzle with ghee.

Suggestions:

Soak the dal in the morning for a quick evening preparation.

Make sure the dal is rinsed well and thoroughly, otherwise it can taste chalky.

Lightly steam the broccoli by adding it to the pot of rice towards the end of cooking.

Variation:

When not using this dish as a cleanse, replace the fennel with finely chopped tomato.